1978 Formula One season

The 1978 Formula One season included the 29th FIAFormula One World Championship which commenced on January 15, 1978, and ended on October 8 after sixteen races. Mario Andretti
was the season Champion and the last American to date to win a Formula
One race. There was also one non-Championship race in 1978, the XXX BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone, the last time that this formerly famous event was run to F1 rules. The race was won by future Champion Keke Rosberg, driving in only his second ever Formula 1 event. The season will also be remembered for the death of Ronnie "Super Swede" Peterson,
who would finish second in the Championship standings despite a fatal
first lap accident at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix.

Race-by-Race

Race One: Argentina

The 1978 season started in Argentina, where Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson
in the other Lotus third on the grid. The start was uneventful, with
Andretti and Reutemann easily keeping first and second, with John Watson in the Brabham
taking third from Peterson. Watson took second from Reutemann on the
seventh lap, but Andretti was uncatchable. Reutemann ran third for a
while, but then began to drop down the order, and so reigning world
champion Niki Lauda
took third in his Brabham, which became second with ten laps left when
Watson's engine blew up. Andretti motored on to a crushing victory, with
Lauda second and Patrick Depailler's Tyrrell taking the final spot on the podium.

Race Two: Brazil

Brazil was the country where the drivers traveled to for the second round of the season, and it was Peterson on pole with James Hunt driving for McLaren
beating Andretti to second. At the start, it was Reutemann who beat the
trio into the first corner, with Hunt and Andretti following, as
Peterson got a bad start. Hunt ran second until he had to pit for tyres,
as a result Andretti took the place until late in the race when he
suffered gearbox issues. Reutemann was never headed at the front and
went to win comfortably, with double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi in his brother's team finishing second, and Lauda third, with both overhauling an ailing Andretti towards the end.

Race Three: South Africa

After a long break, the season resumed in South Africa, where
defending champion Lauda took his first pole for Brabham with Andretti
alongside and Hunt next. Andretti took the lead at the start, and set
about building a gap, whereas Lauda dropped behind Jody Scheckter's Wolf. Young Italian Riccardo Patrese was on a charge in the Arrows,
passing Lauda for third after 20 laps. As the race went on, both
Andretti and Scheckter began to suffer from tyre issues and were passed
by Patrese. Depailler was up to second ahead of Lauda, but the latter's
engine failed handing third to Andretti. Patrese however, seemed to have
the race in his pocket until his engine failed, and Depailler took the
lead but his Tyrrell began to trail smoke. Andretti was up to second but
he had to pit for fuel, and thus his teammate Peterson took the place
before catching and passing Depailler on the last lap to win after some
wheel-banging. Watson completed the podium.

Race Four: United States West

The next race was in the famous Long Beach circuit in the US, and the
Ferraris dominated qualifying, with Reutemann taking pole ahead of
teammate Gilles Villeneuve,
with defending champion Lauda and home hero Andretti on the second row.
When the race started, Watson in fifth late-braked all into turn one,
through he ran wide and Villeneuve took the lead, whereas Reutemann
dropped down to fourth behind Lauda. The Ferraris, with the two Brabhams
in between ran together until Watson's engine failed. Alan Jones's Williams
was up to fourth and closed in on the now lead trio, which became a duo
when Lauda went out with an electrical failure. Villeneuve and
Reutemann ran 1-2 with Jones putting both under pressure, before
Villeneuve also retired after colliding with a backmarker. Jones then
suffered from fuel pressure problems and began to drop back, handing
second to Andretti to the fans delight. The rest of the race passed
without incident, and with all challengers out of contention, Reutemann
won comfortably ahead of Andretti and Depailler.

Race Five: Monaco

Round five took place in Monaco, and once again Reutemann started on
pole with the Brabham duo of Watson and Lauda second and third. Watson
had a good start and led into the first corner, whereas Reutemann
collided with Hunt and had to pit for repairs, which left Depailler and
Lauda second and third. For the first half of the race, the top three
remained the same until Watson had an off allowing Depailler and Lauda
through, but the latter then suffered a puncture and had to pit for
tyres before charging back up and retaking second from Watson towards
the end of the race. At the front, Depailler took his first career
victory with Lauda second, and Scheckter third after Watson made another
mistake in the final laps.

Race Six: Belgium

The main news before the Belgian GP was that the new Lotus 79
is now ready to race, and immediately Andretti showed its pace by
taking pole comfortably from Reutemann and Lauda. He converted it to a
first-corner lead, whereas Reutemann had a bad start and got swamped by
the field, causing a chain reaction in which Lauda was hit by Scheckter
and had to retire. This left Villeneuve second and Peterson third but
neither could keep pace with Andretti who was able to drive away.

The first 40 laps went without incident until Villeneuve suffered a
puncture and had to pit which dropped him back down to fifth, and a few
laps later Peterson also pitted for new tyres leaving the charging
Reutemann second ahead of Jacques Laffite's Ligier.
Peterson on the new tyres was much quicker and was able to pass them
both in the closing stages, and Laffite made an attempt to pass
Reutemann on the last lap but they collided and Laffite was out.
Andretti cruised to an untroubled victory, with Peterson making it a
Lotus 1-2, and Reutemann completing the podium.

Race Seven: Spain

The next race was in Spain and once again the new Lotus 79
demonstrated its speed, with Andretti on pole again with Peterson
alongside, and Reutemann having to settle for the second row. It was
Hunt who got a great start, and he led into the first corner from
Andretti and Reutemann, with Peterson dropping all the way back to
ninth. Hunt led for seven laps before Andretti passed him and pulled
away. Reutemann ran third until he had to pit for tyres, and so Watson
inherited third until he was passed by Laffite, but soon the recovering
Peterson passed both of them. Hunt now suffered from tyre problems and
he also began to drop back, and so Peterson was able to take second and
Laffite third. That was how it stayed to the end, Andretti winning from
Peterson in another Lotus 1-2, and Laffite getting the final spot on the
podium.

Race Eight: Sweden

Before the Swedish GP, the Brabham team had developed a new "fan car"
much to the indignancy of the other teams, but the FIA allowed it to
race. However, it did not stop Andretti from continuing his run of
poles, but it was able to get Watson to qualify second and Lauda third.
When the race started, Andretti led into the first corner, with Lauda
getting second from his teammate. Riccardo Patrese got up to third in
his Arrows until he was passed by home driver Peterson, but by then
Andretti and Lauda had escaped. Peterson began to struggle with a slow
puncture, whereas Andretti and Lauda battled with Andretti making a
mistake just after mid-distance allowing Lauda to take the lead. Lauda
went on to win the race, his first for Brabham after Andretti's
challenge ended due to an engine failure, which left Patrese and
Peterson to take second and third.

After the race, the "fan car" was declared illegal, but since Brabham
were allowed to race with it for Sweden, Lauda's win stood but they had
to revert back to their previous car from the next race onwards.

Race Nine: France

Brabham were forced to revert back to their previous car again, but
it did not deter them, with Watson on pole and Lauda starting third
behind Andretti. At the start, Watson led into the first corner, with
Andretti following, and Patrick Tambay
putting his McLaren in third, but that order did not remain for long as
Andretti took the lead from Watson on the first lap. Lauda and Peterson
were on the move as well, as they passed Watson and Tambay to jump into
second and third, but Lauda suffered another engine failure. This left
the two Lotus cars running 1-2 and they finished like that with Andretti
taking his third win in four races, and the podium was completed by
Hunt who passed Watson mid-race.

Race Ten: Great Britain

The field went to Britain for the next round, and this time it was
Peterson who beat Andretti to pole, as Lotus took the front row, with
Scheckter next up on the second row. Andretti took the lead at the start
from Peterson, and the two Lotus cars quickly pulled out a gap until
Peterson retired with an engine failure. Andretti had a big lead to
Scheckter and continued to extend it until he had to pit with a
puncture, and he eventually retired when his engine also failed.
Scheckter inherited the lead, but Lauda put him under pressure and took
the lead before Scheckter went out with gearbox problems. This put
Reutemann up to second, and he then closed down and passed Lauda in the
late stages of the race to win. Lauda had to settle for second, and his
teammate Watson took a podium in his home race.

Race Eleven: Germany

The German race was next on the calender, and there were no surprises
in qualifying, with Andretti on pole and Peterson alongside him, with
Lauda third. At the start, Peterson got off better and took the lead
from Andretti, but he held it for only four laps before Andretti retook
it. Lauda ran third in the early stages but he was passed by Alan Jones,
and the duo battled until Lauda's engine failed yet again. The two
Lotus cars were cruising at the front and Jones ran third comfortably
until he retired with a fuel vaporization problem. Lotus's hopes of a
1-2 ended when Peterson's gearbox failed, but Andretti was unaffected by
that and cruised to his fifth win of the season, with Scheckter second
and Laffite third.

Race Twelve: Austria

The crowds for the Austrian GP were full of Lauda fans; but however
for them Lauda qualified only 12th as the Lotus cars again took the
front row, with Peterson on pole. The surprise in qualifying was Jean-Pierre Jabouille who qualified his turbocharged Renault
third. The start saw Peterson lead into the first corner, with
Reutemann snatching second from Andretti. Andretti tried to get the
place back later in the lap, but the two collided and Andretti retired
after his car spun into the barriers while Reutemann lost a couple of
places to Patrick Depailler and Scheckter. On the fourth lap, a heavy
rainshower hit the track and Reutemann spun off and was beached but the
marshals push-started his car as it was in a dangerous position, while
Scheckter crashed out, and the race was stopped.

The race restarted after the rain relented, and once again Peterson
led followed by Depailler and Lauda. As the track began to dry, Peterson
started to pull away, and behind, Reutemann was on a charge and passed
Lauda for third but he was black-flagged for receiving outside
assistance, and Lauda crashed out soon after, leaving Gilles Villeneuve
third. The drivers changed to slicks but the top 3 remained the same and
stayed so till the end; Peterson winning ahead of Depailler, with
Villeneuve taking his first ever podium.

Race Thirteen: Holland

The drivers went to the Netherlands for the next race, and qualifying
was as expected, Andretti taking pole with Peterson alongside in the
all-Lotus front row, and Lauda heading the second row. At the start,
Andretti led with Peterson following, whereas Lauda was challenged by
Jacques Laffite. The Lotus cars quickly built up a good gap, while
Laffite challenged Lauda early on but then began to drop down the order
with tyre issues. The race was quite uneventful, and Andretti went to
take victory, with Peterson completing another Lotus 1-2 leaving Lauda
to take third.

Race Fourteen: Italy

The Italian race was host to round fourteen, and as usual Andretti
took pole with Gilles Villeneuve pleasing the Ferrari fans by qualifying
second, ahead of Jabouille's turbocharged Renault. When the race
started, Andretti and Villeneuve got away comfortably with Lauda and
Jabouille following, but the rest of the field was bunched up.

Riccardo Patrese's Arrows was pushed to the grass, and as he
rejoined, James Hunt veered left and hit Peterson, who spun off into the
barriers, whereas up to seven other cars were collected, including
Reutemann, Depailler, and Clay Regazzoni. Peterson's car broke in two on impact with the barriers and caught fire, and Vittorio Brambilla who was in the Surtees
was hit on the head by a flying wheel. Peterson and Brambilla were
taken to hospital, the former with a broken leg, and there was concern
for the latter who was unconscious after being hit by the wheel. The
rest of the drivers were uninjured, and most of them were able to take
the restart.

The race restarted almost four hours after the original start. Again
there was confusion as the front-row starters Andretti and Villeneue
went too early, but the rest of the field did not follow and both
Andretti and Villeneuve were handed one minute time penalties as a
result. On the track, Villeneuve led ahead of Andretti and Jabouille,
until Jabouille retired handing third place on the track to Lauda. His
teammate Watson battled with Reutemann and Laffite, and eventually was
able to pull away. The battle on the track was between Villeneuve and
Andretti, with the Lotus driver passing Villeneuve with five laps left.
Andretti crossed the line first, with Villeneuve close behind, but when
their one-minute penalties were added, it was Lauda who emerged the
victor ahead of Watson and Reutemann.

In hospital, Peterson had a clot forming in his blood stream after
undergoing an operation on his legs, and slipped into a coma overnight,
and died the next morning. This made Andretti the world champion,
although he did not celebrate it, and mourned for Peterson along with
his fellow drivers. Brambilla was able to recover from his injuries.

Race Fifteen: United States

The penultimate round of the season was in the US, and Lotus had hired Jean-Pierre Jarier
to replace Peterson, and Patrese was unable to race because the Grand
Prix Drivers Association had deemed him responsible for the accident
which ultimately killed Peterson.

New World Champion and home hero Andretti was shaken up more than
most drivers due to Peterson's death, but it did not stop him from
romping to pole ahead of Reutemann, with Alan Jones's Williams heading
the second row. Andretti kept the lead at the start, with Reutemann and
Villeneuve following, ahead of Jones. Andretti however was suffering
from an ill-handling car which also had brake troubles, and was soon
passed by both Reutemann and Villeneuve, and later Jones. Reutemann and
Villeneuve ran 1-2 for Ferrari, until Villeneuve's engine blew up. This
left Jones second and Andretti third, but Andretti's engine blew up,
handing third to Lauda until he too suffered the same fate, thus leaving
Scheckter third before here was passed by a charging Jarier, however
Jarier ran out of fuel with four laps left, giving the place back to
Scheckter. Reutemann took a comfortable win from Jones, with Scheckter
completing the podium.

Race Sixteen: Canada

The season finished off in Canada, and in qualifying it was Jarier
who starred, by qualifying on pole ahead of Scheckter and home hero
Villeneuve. Jarier was able to easily lead into the first corner, with
Jones jumping up to second after a brilliant start, also dropping
Scheckter down to third. As Jarier began to pull away, Jones suffered a
slow puncture, and dropped down the field as the race progressed,
promoting Scheckter to second and Villeneuve to third, and then
Villeneuve passed Scheckter mid-race to take second. Jarier continued to
dominate until he retired with an oil leak, leaving Villeneuve to take
his first career win in his home race ahead of Scheckter, with Reutemann
taking third.

Drivers Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to
the top six placegetters in each round. The best seven results from the
first eight races and the best seven results from the remaining eight
races were retained.

Constructors points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top
six placegetters in each round with only the best placed car from each
constructor eligible to score points. The best seven results from the
first eight races and the best seven results from the remaining eight
races were retained.

Non-Championship race results

Another Formula One race was also held in 1978, which did not count towards the World Championship.